The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 928 This feeling is so familiar!
Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin.

Bismarck gently placed the coded telegram on Emperor Wilhelm's desk; the edges of the parchment were gilded by the light from the bamboo lamp. The old prime minister's voice was deep and hoarse:
"Your Majesty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has accepted our conditions. Luo Yaoguo has agreed to meet with our secret envoy in Beijing to discuss the specifics."

Before the old Emperor William I could speak, 24-year-old Prince William suddenly interjected: "Prime Minister, what are we waiting for? The Taiping Army has already dealt a heavy blow to the British fleet in the Pacific! Now is the best time for us to launch an attack on France!"

"Your Highness!" Marshal Moltke suddenly interrupted, the Chief of the General Staff's voice as cold and hard as Prussian steel, "Now is not the time."

"Marshal, as far as I know, Red France is actively preparing for war," Prince William said with concern. "Their military strength is increasing every day!"

Emperor Wilhelm, however, turned his old eyes to Marshal Moltke.

Moltke bowed to the Emperor, walked to the huge map of Europe, and tapped his finger heavily on the location of Constantinople:
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, although Red France is making great efforts to prepare for war, we still must wait for two opportune moments—"

"First, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom attacked Australia and controlled the Strait of Malacca, directly threatening India."

"Secondly, the Russian army launched an attack on Constantinople."

Wilhelm II slammed his fist on the table impatiently: "How much longer? The army of the German Empire is fully prepared! The 'Karl Moor Line' of Red France is currently no match for us!"

"That's precisely why we must wait!" Bismarck suddenly raised his voice. "No matter how hard Red France tries, it can't stop the invincible German army! The real threat to us is British naval power. Only when Britain is fully committed to defending its most important colony, India, will it be able to ignore the unification process of the European continent! And Russia's attack on the Ottoman Empire will draw the last remaining strength of the British Empire to the Mediterranean. At that time, we will be able to act freely in France!"

William I nodded, then looked at his grandson: "Do you understand? This is the policy that a wise politician should adopt: patience and caution are essential!"

Wilhelm II replied modestly, "I understand, I was too impatient."

The old emperor laughed and said, "Young man, it's good to have drive!"

Marshal Moltke then suggested, "Your Majesty, I recommend that General Waldersee be sent as a special envoy to secretly travel to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom aboard an Ottoman merchant ship."

“Ottoman?” Wilhelm I raised an eyebrow.

Moltke explained: “Some friends I made while serving as a military advisor in the Ottoman Empire told me that they had always maintained good relations with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s ambassador, Du Wenxiu, was a distinguished guest in the Sultan’s court. I suspect that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom shared common interests with us on the Ottoman issue.”

Bismarck smiled knowingly: “Indeed, we and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom share common interests in the Near East. The stronger the Ottoman Empire is, the more it can tie down the Russians’ attention in the Balkans.”

William I seemed to be deep in thought, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Good! Let's do it that way!"

Beijing, Zhengyangmen Railway Station.

As Duan Qirui stepped out of the train station, his military boots were immediately drawn to the sight of imperial residences outside. Looking up, he saw the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's apricot-yellow dragon flags fluttering in the summer breeze atop the towering city gate towers. The Forbidden City opposite Zhengyang Gate, with its "bright red walls and golden roofs," was far superior to Li Hongzhang's so-called New Daming Palace in Chang'an.

“Lord Yuan, look!” Duan Qirui tugged at Yuan Shikai’s sleeve. “This city wall is even taller than the walls of the new Tongguan Pass! This palace is far more magnificent than the new Daming Palace of the Tang Dynasty Emperor.”

Yuan Shikai glanced at the majestic Zhengyang Gate and then at the Forbidden City with its red walls and golden tiles. Suddenly, he had a sense of déjà vu. He had never been to Beijing before, so why did he feel a sense of familiarity?
Suddenly, his gaze fell on a vendor—the man was wearing a coarse cloth short jacket, shirtless, and was shouting as he sold sesame cakes: "Rongji, Rongji door nail sesame cakes, freshly baked!"

Yuan Shikai followed his gaze and suddenly felt that the man looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place him.
Wang Zhengyi was already walking towards the sesame seed cake stall with a smile, and he even took out a silver dollar: "Old Rong, eight door nail sesame seed cakes, two in a pack."

"Alright!" The one Wang Zhengyi called "Old Rong" was, of course, Ronglu, who had been "reformed." He had now retired honorably from the Palace Museum, but he still couldn't stay idle. So he set up a stall selling sesame cakes with his two good-for-nothing sons. They even moved their stall outside the Palace Museum to outside Zhengyangmen Railway Station. Now, countless people come to Beijing every day, and as soon as they leave the train station, they have to buy a couple of sesame cakes to tide them over.
So the "Rongji" sesame seed cake stall was thriving. Just as he was packing sesame seed cakes for Wang Zhengyi, a man in a blue-gray military uniform, nicknamed "Big Head," appeared in front of him, looking at him suspiciously. When Ronglu handed the sesame seed cakes to Wang Zhengyi, he and the man exchanged a glance, and both of them were startled.

Just then, a group of officers in dark blue uniforms strode over. The young man at the head of the group had gleaming epaulets and a clear voice: "Is this Lord Yuan? I am Feng Guozhang, adjutant of the Prime Minister's Office, here to greet you on the orders of the Prince of Wu."

Upon hearing the name "Feng Guozhang," a feeling of warmth immediately welled up in Yuan Shikai's heart. He ignored Ronglu and quickly turned to look, only to see a thin, middle-aged scholar wearing round-framed glasses bowing to him.
"Your humble servant is Qu Hongji, Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office. His Highness Prince Wu is waiting for us in the West Garden. Please come with us immediately."

Qu Hongji. That name is kind of annoying!
Yuan Shikai withdrew his gaze, smiled ingratiatingly, and nodded: "Thank you both."

West Garden, Yingtai.

Feng Guozhang led the way, while Yuan Shikai looked around as he walked, much like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden.

Seeing his curiosity, Qu Hongji smiled and said, "This used to be the West Garden of the Imperial City, also known as the Imperial Garden. Many emperors of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty lived here. The last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Xianfeng, died in the West Garden."

Emperor Xianfeng did not acknowledge himself as the last emperor. How could he possibly be the last emperor? Moreover, he did not remember dying in the Western Garden.

But he is not qualified to write history.
Yuan Shikai was secretly alarmed—he seemed to have been here in his dream! But he remained outwardly calm and simply nodded.

Pushing open the doors of the nanmu hall, the scent of sandalwood wafted out. Luo Yaoguo stood with his back to the doorway before a huge world map, his fingertip resting on the locations of Berlin and Moscow. Hearing footsteps, he slowly turned around, his gaze lingering on Yuan Shikai's face for a moment before a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face.

"So alike, so very alike!" Luo Yaoguo muttered to himself, then carefully examined Yuan Shikai a few more times.

Yuan Shikai felt uncomfortable under Luo Yaoguo's gaze and was unsure how to respond when Luo Yaoguo's eyes turned to Duan Qirui.

“It does look like him!” Luo Yaoguo nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips. He muttered to himself, “Time flies! When I first arrived, I was dancing with Hong Xiuquan, and now I’m with Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui, and Feng Guozhang. I wonder if I’ll even get to see figures from Sun Yat-sen’s generation in another ten or twenty years.”

"Your Highness, Prince Wu," Yuan Shikai bowed cautiously, "this humble official, Yuan Shikai, is acting on the orders of the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty."

"How has Li Shaoquan been lately?" Luo Yaoguo suddenly interrupted him, asking in a friendly tone.

Yuan Shikai was taken aback, then replied, "Your Highness, His Majesty is in good health, but he is getting on in years. Now, his greatest concern is self-cultivation and educating the people in Central Asia."

Luo Yaoguo nodded thoughtfully, his gaze sweeping over Yuan Shikai. This "returned overseas student" officer wore a crisp, dark blue new-style military uniform with several gleaming medals pinned to his chest. His every move exuded the elegance of a traditional scholar-official, yet also carried a touch of the competence of a Western soldier—he had quite the air of a historical military strongman from West Asia or North Africa!
And he was Yuan Shikai!

It seems we need to give this guy a good talking-to, otherwise he might ruin the Tang Dynasty's "lying low and chanting scriptures" strategy in Central Asia—for the Tang Dynasty, which rules Central Asia, any new policies, reforms, or new army are all superfluous. Lying low and chanting scriptures—reciting the Four Books and Five Classics—is the only proper thing to do!
That "center of the world island" is too inland; developing industrialization there would be impossible due to transportation issues. If transportation conditions improve in the future, we can still make a living selling resources. Why bother with industrialization? We simply can't compete with the "East Asian monster house." It's a complete waste. If we can just focus on studying the classics (Confucian classics), that would be beneficial to the country and its people!
"Colonel Yuan," Luo Yaoguo suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with amusement, "do you think the new Datang is a good thing?"

Yuan Shikai was taken aback, and fine beads of sweat immediately appeared on his forehead. The question seemed simple, but it actually contained a hidden meaning. He glanced at Luo Yaoguo's expression and carefully answered:

“Your Highness, the new Tang Dynasty has expanded its territory by thousands of miles and governed foreign lands, which is no easy feat. It certainly deserves to recuperate and rebuild.” He paused, then added, “But we are now in an era of great strife, and the outside world is changing rapidly.”

"Hahaha!" Luo Yaoguo suddenly burst into laughter, "I didn't expect you to be a reformer!"

This laughter made Yuan Shikai even more uneasy.

Luo Yaoguo suddenly lowered his voice, his gaze fixed intently on Yuan Shikai: "Yuan Shikai, remember this: I oppose the reforms of the Tang Dynasty! The Tang Dynasty is perfectly fine as it is now! Stay put in Central Asia; nothing else matters except educating the people. Don't even think about trying to profit in this era of great strife. Isn't a vast territory enough? With only ten million people, just guard it well, and your descendants will have more than enough to eat! Do you understand?"

(End of this chapter)